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Commentary

Identifying Mobile Shoppers A Top Priority For 70% Of Retailers

Retailers are increasingly looking to personalize shopping experiences by tapping into mobile technology to help them identify their customers.

Identifying the customer and
delivering a personalized experience is one of the top priorities of 70% of retailers, according to a new study by BRP Consulting.

More than half (57%) of retailers say customer mobile
experience alignment via mobile app, Web site and responsive design is a top customer engagement priority, and empowering associates with mobile tools is important for 46% of retailers.

The
intent is to use mobile technology to identify the customer prior to checkout -- sometimes even before they enter the store -- to enable associates to assist and influence purchase decisions,
according to the report.

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In previous times, retailers relied on checkout for customer identification. Savvy retailers now leverage mobile apps, WiFi, geolocation and beacon technology to
identify customers when they are near or entering the store. This technology is becoming commonplace at shopping centers, malls, restaurants, drug stores and convenience stores.

Many retailers
are using such technology and others are testing it. Here’s how retailers have either piloted or implemented customer identification via mobile device or plan to within the next 12 months:

32% -- WiFi

31% -- Mobile app

29% -- Mobile Web site

29% -- Mobile loyalty program

26% -- MAC address

26% -- Near field communication
(NFC)

26% -- Mobile wallet

22% -- Bluetooth

21% -- Social media listening

19% -- Beacons

Retailers also have placed technology into the hands of
sales associates. However, there are some issues there. While about half (49%) of retailers are using mobile customer engagement solutions for associates, 73% of those retailers say these need
improvement, according to the study.

Mobile payments also are gradually becoming a part of the shopping experience. However, one of the stumbling blocks is the ability of retailers to be able
to take mobile payments. Here’s the rundown of which payment methods can be accepted at retail today, according to BRP:

36% -- Apple Pay

34% -- PayPal

25% --
MasterCard PayPass

24% -- Android Pay

20% -- Visa Checkout

18% -- Samsung Pay

11% -- Chase Pay

4% -- Private label mobile payment

There’s yet another issue that mobile shoppers may face -- at least those looking to buy through apps. Only 22% of retailers offer mobile apps that can be used for making purchases, according
to a new study by the ecommerce company NewStore.

That study comprised in-the-field interviews with 112 luxury, lifestyle and fashion retail brands to evaluate their mobile capabilities, with
a focus on native apps, mobile Web sites and the omnichannel functionalities they deliver.

About a quarter (24%) of brands display real-time inventory on their apps, as do 22% of brands via
mobile Web sites.

The good news is that most (88%) brands offer access to a loyalty account through an app.

The fine-tuning of mobile commerce experiences matters, since the number of
mobile phones continues to grow around the world.

Phone companies shipped 347 million smartphones worldwide in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest Worldwide Quarterly
Mobile Phone Tracker report from the International Data Corporation.

Samsung is the mobile marketer leader, with 79 million phones shipped in the first quarter, along with 52 million Apple
phones shipped.

Commerce will grow along with the mobile market itself.

There will also be more opportunities to deliver end-to-end experiences, which is hardly happening today. The
NewStore study found that only 1% of brands follow up on an in-store purchase with personalized communication.

This column was previously published in MobileShopTalk on May 2,
2017.

Chuck Martin is Editor of the AI & IoT Daily at MediaPost and writes the daily Connected Thinking column. He is a NY Times Business bestselling author and his latest book is “Digital Transformation 3.0” (The New Business-to-Consumer Connections of The Internet of Things.) He is CEO of Net Future Institute and a frequent keynote speaker internationally. Follow him on Twitter @chuckmartin and contact him at Chuck@MediaPost.com.